48 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 168. 



the matter of spraying for the control of fungous diseases is in abeyance, 

 proper methods of bog management will have to be relied upon as far as 

 possible in producing fruit of superior inherent keeping quality. Much 

 investigation is needed in this connection, especially concerning the 

 bearing which water, in its various uses, has on the development and 

 spread of fungous diseases. 



It seems certain that, under this plan, less green fruit would be put on 

 the market, for the winter flowage would seldom be held late on a bog in 

 the spring of a season in which a crop was to be produced, and the berries 

 would always have a growing season of good length before picking time 

 came, as a result. There would also be much less trouble with fruit worms 

 in the early shipments, for there would always be the combination of a 

 maximum crop with a minimum infestation by this pest, this resulting in 

 a great dilution of the infestation. 



4. Expense of Harvesting. — The cost of picking a small crop is large 

 out of all proportion to the quantity of fruit obtained, for the same area of 

 ground has to be gone over whether the crop is large or small. With the 

 plan of management here proposed, only maximum crops would ever be 

 picked, the expense of harvesting being reduced thereby to a minimum. 

 Moreover, bogs would be picked and also raked after picking only once 

 where now they have to be gone over twice. In the opinion of the writer, 

 the saving gained in this way would, as a rule, hardly be less than 35 cents 

 a barrel. 



Possibility of applying the New Plan to Dry Bogs. 

 Thus far the new proposals have been discussed only as they may apply 

 to flowed bogs. Though the acreage of strictly dry bogs is relatively very 

 small, the changes in question should, nevertheless, be considered in con- 

 nection with them. It seems possible that these changes may be applied 

 satisfactorily to such bogs, if the bloom can be effectually killed by spray- 

 ing v/ith iron sulfate or some other chemical. The investigations in this 

 direction have not yet progressed far enough to justify a conclusive report. 

 As has been shown, the fruit worm is very heavily parasitized on 

 such bogs, and it seems only reasonable to suppose that, if it 

 could be even partially starved out every other year, its parasites 

 might thereby receive the assistance they need in order to get the 

 upper hand of the pest sufficiently to reduce it satisfactorily. Careful 

 attention is being given to this apparent possibility of tipping the 

 balance of nature in favor of the cranberry grower. In the opinion of the 

 writer, however, it will eventually be found advisable to replace the 

 cranberry, on all bogs that cannot be winter flowed, with some other fruit- 

 producing plant that does well in acid soil, such as the swamp blueberry 

 {Vaccinium corymbosum). 



